This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn more.

NOTICE: There are two new video channel areas set up, one for staff, and one for subscribing members.
You need to create a folder. Then add your media to that folder.
Once added, you can cut and paste the code at the bottom right to embed the media into a post on the forum.

Iron

Hi guys, I have been after a decent second hand Mill, Drill for ages.
They all seem to go for silly money in the 1-phase range
I guess we are all after a bargain.

I have throw caution to the wind and bought one from Alibaba
They a manufacturing it now, shipped to Australia, eventually it will arrive in my shed in about 2-months
My choice of model is a pretty large machine, hopefully if it's oversize for my needs I will over come any problems I encounter
Anyone else tried doing the same thing
Cheers Nick

Attachments

Active Member

Nick ,welcome to the site, I've looked at them many times , a couple of them I'd have loved to own. But I'm very limited on funds , even tho I've collected quite a few machines used but one , HF mill drill I bought and still in the crate . Two years ago I decided before I die I'm gonna have my machine shop. I became a tool&die machinist way back in 1974 apprenticeship till 77 . But worked in shops from 71, .I got cheated out of the life I planned , in 79 I ended up paralyzed from the neck down . But I got back about 85 percent but walking with a cane throwing a bum leg caused other problems which put me in a wheelchair now. But even still I kept pushing till I have bulging discs which really stopped me. Need spine surgery , looking for Dr and hospital to get best results. Story over no but id love to have a combo mill they have its about 6k , hard to come by on a SS disability income.. good luck with your mill remember the machines only has good as the machinist using it. Pictures we love , I live vicariously through others but I'm still trying .

Iron

Nick ,welcome to the site, I've looked at them many times , a couple of them I'd have loved to own. But I'm very limited on funds , even tho I've collected quite a few machines used but one , HF mill drill I bought and still in the crate . Two years ago I decided before I die I'm gonna have my machine shop. I became a tool&die machinist way back in 1974 apprenticeship till 77 . But worked in shops from 71, .I got cheated out of the life I planned , in 79 I ended up paralyzed from the neck down . But I got back about 85 percent but walking with a cane throwing a bum leg caused other problems which put me in a wheelchair now. But even still I kept pushing till I have bulging discs which really stopped me. Need spine surgery , looking for Dr and hospital to get best results. Story over no but id love to have a combo mill they have its about 6k , hard to come by on a SS disability income.. good luck with your mill remember the machines only has good as the machinist using it. Pictures we love , I live vicariously through others but I'm still trying .

Hi Silverbullet, Sorry to hear about you spinal problems. It must make everything pretty tough to achieve.
My back ground is a Marine Engineer, I learned machining at college. Over the years I have had to spin up a few bit and Pieces at sea in order too get us out of the s......t. We always had large lathes 3m beds and decent drilling machine. Sometimes shapers.
I finally bought a property with a 140m2 shed about 6-years ago so have the room to get some decent machines.
A lathe is my ultimate goal, but a good sized drill is a start. Eventually a drill becomes a drill with a cross slide, which becomes a powered cross slide,,,,,,,which becomes a mill,,,,, which becomes ,,,,,,, anyway you know the story. ,,,,,,!
I kind of figured,,,,, most of the new machines in Auatralia have thier roots in China, so I decided to avoid the middle man and just order directly from the manufactures..... A saving of about 50%
If it's all wrong then I cannot return it to the manufactures or cry to the sales assistant, also I will not know the quality until it's sitting in my shed, but I guess I can solve any problems myself. The firm seems to knock out a lot of these machines so they must be reasonable
Anyway I will keep you posted,,,,,, cheers Nick

Active User

When I was working I had occasion to order from various suppliers. When trying somebody new I would always place one or two small orders first. That gave me a chance to inspect the quality of their products and services.

I would check to see if they sell accessories such as collets or a vise that you might have use for. Then I would order these first. Your experience with this order should help you to decide one way or another.

Iron

When I was working I had occasion to order from various suppliers. When trying somebody new I would always place one or two small orders first. That gave me a chance to inspect the quality of their products and services.

I would check to see if they sell accessories such as collets or a vise that you might have use for. Then I would order these first. Your experience with this order should help you to decide one way or another.

Hi Charles
The idea sounds great, a bit of product testing and inspection would be the way to go. The Chinese firm only sells medium to large machines. I am getting about the smallest in the range. I anticipate having to file off a few rough edges but hopefully it should be pretty decent. The machine can take a 50mm drill MT4. So should be a lot more robust than anything I will ever need it for. Just hope thier is not too much play in the table
Cheers Nick

Iron

Hi Jeff
It on a boat from China,,,, the firm had some issues sourcing a 240v motor.
Still have to get it through ozzy customs and transport it home,,,,,
Then their is the problem of getting it off my trailer on to the ground 500kg?
No crane. !
Might look more like a bad episode of,,,,,,, Last of the summer wine!

I'm pleased l was not waiting to finish a project

I've been tooling-up. If that's a real word?
Buying a few milling bits and cutters,
Not done any milling since college days 30-years ago
A bit of turning and fitting over the years, so it should be pretty straight forward
YouTube videos are pretty helpful

Busy with a major overhaul on a 200kw diesel generator the last couple of weeks.
A 10,000 hour overhaul. Heads off, pistons and liners out,,,,, about 1-week off completion

Active User

A friend did this with two lathes. The initial price was approx just under half what they would sell locally.
They landed in Brisbane and then the fun began.
every little bit of paper costs (not much) for every office it goes through.
He did pay for shipping up to Townsville though rather than collect them himself.
In total he saved around $250. I hope you do better.

Active User

Hi Nick
I've been tooling-up. Yes but i think it is guns, not tools for your mill. lol
Last of the summer wine!, do you get it down under, still on TV in the UK, i bet the US has no idea of Last of the summer wine.
I think it as been on for more than 35 years, i still watch it. LOL
Lots of photos when it comes, i was thinking of doing the same, i will see how you get on first, good luck.
jeff

Iron

Hi Guys,
I can get the milling machine to Brisbane for 2,000 aud, plus GST, 2,340 aud...... Then comes any customs, import costs, and freight handing costs???, I can pick it up from Brisbane, but I don't count that expense as any milling machine I bought would come from there.
Then the decision, what's it worth?
It's a big machine 500kg and will take an mt4 morse taper, X axis is powered,
They are supplying a large vice and some tools........
It will never be a true milling machine with all the bells and whistles a Bridgeport has, but it will work for me.
Cheers Nick

Iron

Hi Nick
I've been tooling-up. Yes but i think it is guns, not tools for your mill. lol
Last of the summer wine!, do you get it down under, still on TV in the UK, i bet the US has no idea of Last of the summer wine.
I think it as been on for more than 35 years, i still watch it. LOL
Lots of photos when it comes, i was thinking of doing the same, i will see how you get on first, good luck.
jeff

Hi Jeff
I have not seen 'last of the summer wines' for a few years...... They don't have it in Ozzzy land, it was a good series when I lived in the UK but they have flogged it to death now....... When all the actors are dead, and the new actors are dead,,,,, well you get my drift.....
I have picked up some great measuring tools off eBay, all Chinese, (sorry Moore and Wright)
Digital angle indicators, internal micrometers, dial gauges......... Cheep, cheep, cheep, in the words of my budgie .....
(No budgie threads,,,,, that was a lie, I don't have a budgie)
Cheers Nick

Active User

Hi Nick
Not a lot wrong with Chinese stuff if you buy well, just got a lot of BXA tool holders, 10 off, Hass made in China, very good for the price.
I did get an Aloris tool post s/h from the USA, for them.
All of my micrometers are Moore & Wright or Mitutoyo, but i have had them for years, 0-6" & 0-100mm,
if you look on eBay you can find Mitutoyo at a good price.
Most of my digital calipers 8" are Chinese, one Facom Vernier Caliper s/s 8"& one Mitutoyo Vernier Caliper s/s 12".I am on eBay every night looking for tools at the right price, lol, when i find a deal, i have 3-4 mates, & i will get enough for all.

Iron

Hi Jeff
Sounds like you know your tools,
I did buy a packet of 4 set square from Aldis, at the right price.
The following day a used to 400mm one to mark off a line on some plywood.....
You guessed it! The set square was calibrated to 89 degrees.
The small one was so slack I could change the angle by a few degrees.......

The silver lining is,, everything I build that is a little squewiff,,,,,, I can blame on my squares being out of whack

I have some decent micrometers, but a lots of pretty good Chinese tools..... I like the verity of tools so l can tackle many different jobs. Also it is nearly impossible to source any of the specialist tools locally.
eBay can be a good source, but their some rubbish out there.....flogged out old micrometer sitting at the bottom of a rusty tool box for the last 20-years!

I always laugh when I see an old lathe that has been sitting in a field for the last 30-year, the owner puts a 2k price tag on it....... I didn't know rust was so valuable !!

Active User

Hi Nick
To some rust is like gold, i cannot stand the stuff my self.
I have a Chinese lathe, you can see from the photo, 1440 nice machine, had a Denford viceroy 5" made in the UK, but was to much of a project, so i got the 1440,
i am putting a VFD on it at the mo, lol, still a small project.

Iron

Ahhhhhh,
Best laid plans,,,,, turned to custard
The Chinese company told me they could not construct the milling machine as they had been temporary shut down by the Chinese government due to pollution
After waiting 6-months I told the company to stuff-it and cancelled the order,,,,
Alibaba returned my money
I did think I would never see the mill or my money again
So Alibaba
Now I am in the market to buy a milling machine

What to buy?
Sadly I don't have 3-phase
So I am limited to a hobby machine,

Active User

Hi Nick
Not a lot wrong with Chinese stuff if you buy well, just got a lot of BXA tool holders, 10 off, Hass made in China, very good for the price.
I did get an Aloris tool post s/h from the USA, for them.
All of my micrometers are Moore & Wright or Mitutoyo, but i have had them for years, 0-6" & 0-100mm,
if you look on eBay you can find Mitutoyo at a good price.
Most of my digital calipers 8" are Chinese, one Facom Vernier Caliper s/s 8"& one Mitutoyo Vernier Caliper s/s 12".I am on eBay every night looking for tools at the right price, lol, when i find a deal, i have 3-4 mates, & i will get enough for all.

Be very careful buying Mitutoyo on ebay, many, many counterfit Mit items out there, the fakes can be suprisingly close in appearance. Know your vendor on Mitutoyo. If a seller isn't an authorized dealer and item is new that is a huge red flag in my opinion. Best to ask questions. A Mitutoyo fake is likely worse than no name Chinese stuff that you can get from known sources. There are websites and I think you tube videos that go over the fakes and how to spot them. If you are looking to save money on quality tools, look into used Swiss made tools that are metric.